Nearly everyone knows the importance of it, but few people consider its benefits convincing enough to actually make gratitude a regular practice, as they would with washing their hair or cleaning the home, for example.

Fortunately, we live in a world of unprecedented scientific evidence to match the perennial wisdom we’ve all intuitively known throughout our lives, shedding a new light on the importance of being thankful for what we have.

I remember how much I had heard and read about gratitude before I made it an integral part of my life.

It all seemed to make sense and generally seemed to be the right thing to do. But I finally came to realize it’s much more than that.

I can say with absolute confidence that it’s not just a feel-good practice or a virtue to be cultivated.

It will change everything in your life for the better. And it will do so immediately.

If you are serious about understanding and mastering the art of happiness, which I’ve come to learn and respect that you are, the hedonic treadmill is a topic that you must absolutely be aware of.

If you haven’t heard of the term ‘hedonic treadmill’ before, this article aims to present exactly – from the ground up – what it is and why it is important.

Essentially, it’s the notion that human happiness adapts to our experience, i.e. our increase or decrease in happiness after an event eventually returns to a ‘happiness set point’ because we psychologically adapt to that new experience, whatever it may be.

The purpose of this article is to provide a deep understanding of the principles, not only of the term known as ‘hedonic treadmill’ but the notion of happiness being adaptable and the inherent underlying reasons why this may be. [Read more…]

They’re built into our society and embedded into the human psyche more than is healthy and taking the time to step back and ask ‘is that really true?’ is an essential step to take if we’re to move forward as a flourishing species.

A fascinating study looked at the levels of happiness amongst a group of people deemed by their surroundings, as well as ours, to work in a trade of disgust and low class. The members of this study live under persistent cultural stigma.

They are trash pickers. They live in extreme poverty, sometimes not having enough to meet the basic human needs.

The surprise? They aren’t unhappy. Quite the opposite. And the reason why is most definitely a wake up call. [Read more…]